NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

I n Western North Carolina, we had two modern rock radio stations. From upstate South Carolina there was  93.3 “ The Planet,”  an Active Rock radio station that played lots of ‘90s rock and neo-90s rock. They loved grunge and post-grunge. They played  Nickelback ,  Seether ,  P.O.D. ,  Flyleaf ,  Puddle of Mudd , and that kind of music. Then there was Charlotte’s  106.5 “The End ,” an Alternative rock station. While playing much of the same music, they also featured some newer groups, such as  Silversun Pickups ,  Thirty Seconds to Mars , and the occasional  The Almost  or  Saosin  song. The Starting Line was one of those emerging bands that was starting to be picked up on radio. The first single, “ Island ,” from the band’s third and final (latest) LP,  Direction ,  was a kind of break out for the band to mainstream alternative rock. The band had toured on their two previous albums and built up a fan base thanks to venues like the  Vans Warped Tour , but some band members grew tired o

  No matter how your Monday finds you, let's unwind with an album that meant a lot to me nearly ten years ago, the first spring I spent in Korea. I don't remember what first attracted me to Deas Vail 's third and eponymous album, but once I started listening, I couldn't stop. I also don't know much about where the band members are now, whether or not they remain in music in any capacity. What I do know is that Deas Vail captured a moment perfectly.  1. " Desire ." That being said, Deas Vail begins with my least favorite track. It's not a bad song, and it clearly has the guitar motifs and the husband-wife duet sounds which will be important elsewhere in the album. Lyrically, "Desire" isn't very interesting and it's skip-able. But that's my opinion. "Desire," does, though have the most streams of the album. 2. " Sixteen " begins the energy that is consistent in the rest of the album. Warm guitar tones bathe the

Shoegaze  is a sub-genre of rock music that employs heavy distorted guitars to create what is called a "wall of sound." Shoegaze came out of  psychedelic rock and often creates a hypnotic effect. Not every group that uses "the wall of sound" is necessarily a shoegazer act, but some bands that have famously used this effect are  Oasis ,  The Verve , and the  Smashing Pumpkins . The etymology of  "shoegazing" is said to be a description of the guitarists of these bands because they mostly stared at their shoes.  The etymology of  "shoegazing" is said to be a description of the guitarists of these bands because they mostly stared at their shoes. While music critics don't often place  Silversun Pickups  in the subgenre of Shoegaze, what else would  you classify their 2009 hypnotic hit " Panic Switch "? IT'S NEVER WORTH MY TIME . Silversun Pickups topped the Alternative Rock chart with this song. Released in 2009, at a time when I wa

Silversun Pickups came at the end of the Indie Rock revolution of the early '00s. The bromine-colored album jacketed  Swoon was a smash hit on Alternative and Active Rock stations, even gaining the band entry into the Hot 100 on the first and third singles, " Panic Switch " and " The Royal We ."   Swoon is a more refined version of the band's debut,  Carnavas , though there was a time when Silversun Pickups seemed to be a desired sound with tracks on Guitar Hero and Rock Band from both Swoon and Carnavas  and a Grammy nomination for best new artist. Today, though, the band is relatively obscure, despite continuing to release music, most recently late August's Physical Thrills .  HOW MANY WAYS DO YOU WANT TO DIE? Swoon starts off with the fast-tempo track " There's No Secrets This Year " easily recalling the garage rock shoegaze of Silversun Pickups' first record Carnavas. The track is energetic, and while the lyrics feel a little poi

  It's officially spooky season, so I decided to make a playlist celebrating the spookier songs I've blogged about or artists that had a spooky song. The 31 tracks that I included perhaps won't make you writhe in horror, but they have a loose connection to Halloween. Maybe there's a lyrics or a creepy video, or maybe it was just a song that I listened to a lot in October. I will post the Spotify playlist below and links to the posts and the tracks so that you can read the spooky stories behind the tracks.  1.       " Ghost " by Yellow Ostrich 2. " Closer " by Kings of Leon 3. " Unholy " by Sam Smith ft. Kim Petras 4. " I'm Pretty Sure I'm Out of Luck and Have No Friends " by Underoath 5. " Two Graves " by Anberlin 6. " Moonlit " by Falling Up 7. " Panic Switch " by Silversun Pickups 8. " Killer " by Chvrches   9. " Midnight City " by M83 10 " Edge of Seventeen "

Ten years after releasing their breakthrough record, Swoon , Silversun Pickups released their fifth record, Widow's  Weeds . The band's first two records contained fast, pulsating shoegaze tracks, but by their third record, 2012's Neck of the Woods , the band started playing with their formula. By their fourth record, Better Nature , the band had gone against the rules they set for themselves for their debut record, Carnavas. That rule: to record a record relying mostly on guitar, bass, and some keys that the band could provide and relying mostly on organic sounds.  IS IT BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE? NO.  Working with famed the famed   Nirvana ,   The Smashing Pumpkins   producer and   Garbage   founding member   Butch Vig ,   Widow's Weeds  is Silversun Pickups' attempt at rock greatness. But rock greatness looks different in the late 2010s when the genre suffered its lowest point. Widow's Weeds came four years after the band's fourth record, Better Nature. T

  I n Western North Carolina, we had two modern rock radio stations. From upstate South Carolina there was 93.3 “ The Planet,” an Active Rock radio station that played lots of ‘90s rock and neo-90s rock. They loved grunge and post-grunge. They played Nickelback , Seether , P.O.D. , Flyleaf , Puddle of Mudd , and that kind of music. Then there was Charlotte’s 106.5 “The End ,” an Alternative rock station. While playing much of the same music, they also featured some newer groups, such as Silversun Pickups , Thirty Seconds to Mars , and the occasional The Almost or Saosin song. The Starting Line was one of those emerging bands that was starting to be picked up on radio. The first single, “ Island ,” from the band’s third and final (latest) LP, Direction , was a kind of break out for the band to mainstream alternative rock. The band had toured on their two previous albums and built up a fan base thanks to venues like the Vans Warped Tour , but some band members grew tired of touring,